State transportation officials and the city of Clinton are at odds over a landscaping project on the Springridge Road exit off Interstate 20.

Thousands of dollars were supposed to be spent on the landscaping and irrigation project, but portions of the project are dying.

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“As people drive by, they see this and it represents Clinton,” said Melinda Kennedy with The Olive Branch.

At The Olive Branch, they know plants and why detail matters, but they don’t understand why the interstate exit to their city is littered with dead trees.

“It’s discouraging,” said Dede Dotson with The Olive Branch. “You get excited about them making an improvement and then you watch it go down the drain.”

Among the recently planted magnolia, crape myrtle and poplar trees are dying trees. Mayor Phil Fisher said it’s not a good look.

“It is not what I would like,” Fisher said. “I think once we start maintaining it ourselves, it will look a lot better, but right now we are staying out of it, except for the grass cutting.”

The Mississippi Department of Transportation contracted nearly $500,000 for the landscaping plants, trees and irrigation system on a project that is a little more than 2 years old. According to the state, the plants are covered by a warranty.

Some of the plants have reportedly been replaced and others are clearly in need of it, which 16 WAPT’s Scott Simmons said begs the question, for a contract this large, why hasn’t the work been finished yet?

MDOT Commissioner Dick Hall said the state is withholding payment to the contractor.

”He doesn’t get paid until he gets done,” Hall said.

The state agreed to pay $92,000 for creape myrtles, $53,000 for magnolia trees and $64,000 for poplars, just to list some of the items included in what MDOT maintains is still an incomplete project.

“The contractors have not finalized this contract to our satisfaction, and until he goes in there and replaces everything that is dead and hands it over to us and warrantees it for two years, that’s when we will pay him,” Hall said.

The architect on the project said they did get paid. Superior Asphalt is the general contractor on the project, MDOT officials said. Simmons called the company, but did not receive a response.